Tape serving machine



T. H. KRUEGER TAPE SERVING MACHINE May 29', 1934.

6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2, 1930 INVENTOR 795000/75 4 [F05 I r I A'lTORNEY May 29, 1934. T. H. KRUEGER v1,960,945

TAPE sERviNG MACHINE Filed July 2, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 y 29, 1934- T. H. KRUEGER TAPE SERVING MACHINE Filed July 2, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR T/lfODO/if/If K905i ATTORNEY My 29, 1934. 111-1. KRUEGER 1,960,945

TAPE SERVING MACHINE v ATTORNEY Patented May 29, n 1934 UNITED STATES 1,960,945 TAPE SERVING' MACHINE Theodore H. Krueger, Derby, Conn.

I Application July 2, 1930, Serial N6. 465,331

. 3 Claims. '(01. 164-42) The present invention relates to motor driven tape moistening and dispensing machines and particularly relates to improved means for feeding measured lengths of the gummed tape.

6 Motor driven tape serving machines have been used in certain types of work which required accuracy and rapidity of operation inasmuchras the ordinary hand operated machine cannot'be operated with sufilcient speed when accurate lengths are needed. Clutches have also been used to prevent the residual motion of the motor from overrunning the tape. These prior machines have been diflicult to regulate however and to change the tape adjustment was usually slow and difficult.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved measuring device which will accurately measure the tape dispensed and actuate the shearing and other mechanism measured and which may be readjusted with great rapidity.

A further object of the invention'is to provide a reciprocating shuttle member, which travels in proportion to the movement of the tape from the machine and which will stop the machine after a predetermined movement.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a screw driven reciprocating shuttle positively driven from the feed roll mechanism,

which when contacting with a predetermined measuring stop, will trip the feed roll mechanism and bring about the operating of the shearing device. A still further object of the invention is to provide an operating key or lever which, when depressed, will start an electric motor, engage the feed clutch, andset the automatic measuring mechanism and when the automatic measuring 40 mechanism reaches ail-predetermined point, the key will be released to disengage the feed clutch, shut off the electric motor and bring the shearing mechanism into operation and permit the return of the measuring mechanism to its original position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a keyboard having a plurality of keys corresponding to definite tape lengths for instantaneous changing of the measuring amount-to any other desired amount.

A still further object of the invention is. to provide a multiple row, self-correcting keyboard for selection of different lengths of tape.

A still further object of the invention is'to pro-.-

vide an automatic motor driven tape serving to limit the dispensed tape to the correct amount device which may be adapted to measure and dispense definite lengths of tape and which may be provided with a universal adjustment-of tape length if strips of any desired length, not within the range of the definite lengths or the first ad justment are desired.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following description thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings which are illustrative'of two preferred forms of embodiment thereof and'in which: 7 I

Fig..1 is'a side elevation of the tape serving machine.

Fig 2 is-a top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1. H

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the machine with-certain parts broken away to show the internal construction.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section showing the details of the feed roll drive.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of the driving clutch.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section at right angles to Fig. 4, and showing the front end construction.

Fig. 'lis a horizontal section taken substan- 8Q tially below the top plate of the frame. Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the feed control with .parts broken away'to show the internal construction.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section at right angles to Fig. 8 showing other details of construction.

Figs; 10 and 11 are detailed views of the keys.

Fig. 12 is a substantially central vertical section through the clutch.

Fig. 13 is a horizontal section through the knife control release.

Fig. 14 is a partial plan view of a modified form of feed control.

The electrically operated tape serving device illustrated comprises 'four particular elements, namely, the tape feed mechanism. theautomatic feed control, the knife operating mechanism and the moistener.

Tape feed mechanism The motor A shown in Fig. 3 operates the feed rolls B to force the tape 0 past the shear D and the moistener E. These parts are mountedin 'the casing F and are essential in the particular to be disclosed. 110

The motor A is provided with a spindle shaft 10,

having a worm 11 which drives the worm wheel 12, secured on the shaft 13 shown in Fig. 4 and this latter shaft is provided with a fixed collar 14 having dog teeth 15. A clutch element 16 is provided with cooperating teeth 17 (see Fig. 5) and is splined on the shaft 18 having the spline 19. A mitre gear 20 is made secure to the shaft 18 and drives the mitre gear. 21 operatively secured to the driving spindle22 (see Fig. 7).

midway of the ends and cooperates with a similar knurled friction roller 24 mounted on a free spindie 25 which is resiliently pressed against the driving roller 23 by the tensile springs 26 mounted on the side plates 27 and 28 of themachine.

A control lever 30 is provided with-a finger key 31 adapted fordownward movement an'd'as particularly shown in Fig. 4 the lever 30 is pivoted at 32 and intermediate its ends a clutch engaged link 33 is secured by means of a clevis 34pivoted to the lever .at the point 35. In.Fig..,3,.leve'r 30 is shown in the upward or inoperative position and the clutchfork 36. pivotedat the point 37 and to which the link; 33 is pivoted at the point 38 is also in the upward or inoperative position and the driventeeth 17 on the driven clutch member 16 are .separated from the driving teeth in the clutch driving collar 14. In such a position themotor A would thus ,be free to rotate without causing actuation-of the tape feed spindle 22, although as will be' noted hereinafter, the upward movement of the lever 30 stops the motor If the lever 30 is depressed by applying the finger to the key 31 as shown in Fig. 4 thelink-3 3-. will cause a rotation of theclutchfork 36 about the fixed pivot 37, thereby causing an engagement between the driving membergl4 andthe driven member 16. If the motor A. is then onerated the worm 11 will rotate the worm wheel 12 driving the shaft ,18,and through the clutch members 14 and 16 will rotate the spline shaft 18 and the mitre gear 20, which in turn drives the mitregear 21, rotating the spindle 22 and causing rotation of the knurled feedrollers 23 and 24. The

tape C which passes between the feed rollers 23 and 24 is thus drawn from the tape roll G over the antifriction roller 38a and is. then dispensed from the machine past the moistener E, which operates in a manner as will be hereinafter discussed.

As shown in Fig. 3, a U-shaped standard 40 is mounted on the base of the machineand is adapted to receive the core 41 ofthe tape roll G.

In the particular instance the tape roll frictionally engages the base of the machine to prevent undue over U shaped it will accommodate various sized rolls which will always frictionally engage the base of the machine. A doorH is provided in the rear of the casing F which is adapted to permitinser tion of replenishing rolls.

Motor control switch 42 ofthe toggle type'is mounted on the side plate 27 of the casing F and is operated by means of an adjustable control arm 43 to which the bell crank arm 44 of the clutch control fork 36 is adjustably secured. A micrometerradjustment-45 may be providedby the connectingarm 43 and the bell crank lever arm 44 1 for more careful adjustment of the-switch control. The lever arm 30 has-a projection .47 mounted intermediate its end and a latch member 48 is se-.

cured to a latch member release bar 49 and cooperates with the projection 47 when the lever 30' is in the lowermost position. A latch release member 50 is also mounted on the: release lever bar.

A knurled friction roller 23 is mounted on the spindle 22' ing of the roll, and as the standard is .line across the machine.

49 and the release member is connected by a link 51 with the lever 52 which is pivoted at 53 and is adapted to be operated by the wedge 54 secured to the stop bar 55. The stop bar 55 is pivoted at 56 and is held in the uppermost position by -jection 47 is engaged by the notch in the latch member 48 to hold the clutch fork 36 in its depressed position with the motor and other parts operating until'the clutch fork 36 is released.

The. clutch is already engaged and as the motor rotates'it feeds the tape by the rotation of the friction feed rollers in contact therewith. The manual release is brought about by depressing the stop bar=55 which operates the wedge 54 and lever 52 causing. a rotation of the latch release bar 49 releasing the latch 48 from the projection 47 and permitting the operating lever 30 to rise. Aspring 58 and spring 59 cooperate to return the starting key 31 to its initial position and'the upward movement of the lever 30 thus causes an instantaneous disengagement of the clutch to prevent any over-running of the tape due to the momentum ofthe motor A and the motor is simultaneously'shutoff by the movement of the motor switch control arm, but due to the residual energy in the motor shaft the motor will normally rotate a slight amount as the switch is moved to the off position. v.The tape feed, however, in-

stantly. ceases dueto the disengagement of the clutch and friction on,the feed rollers. A cover 60-is provided over the upper roller 23 to prevent;ballingup of the tape and to act as a guard.

Automatic feed control Referring to Fig.7 and Fig. 14, it will be noted that the spindle 22- isprovided with a gear 61 in contact with-a gear 62 connected to a screw shaft 63. The screw 63 extends substantially the full width of the machine and is adapted to move a shuttle 64 ina single direction across the face of the. machine. The shuttle is mounted on a squarerframe 65, as shown in Fig. 4, which frame is also mounted on the lever 30 which, as seen in Fig. .-7, is of U shape. The lower portion of the shuttle 64 has a cooperating screw 63a (see Fig. 3) and due to .the positive rotation of the feed roller spindle 22,.the screw 63 will be positively rotated causing a travel of the shuttle in a straight This travel is calibrated to the movement of the-'tape'through the machine and the distance the shuttle moves from its initial position will beexa ctly proportional to theamount of tapedispe'nsed by the feed rollers.

A clock spring. 66 mounted on a vertical shaft 67 is connected to the shuttle 6.4 by means of acord or wire 68 so that upon release of the lever 30 to its upper position the shuttle 64 will become disengaged'from the screw. 63 and willbe withdrawn to-its initial position.

In the operationof the automatic feedcontrol of Fig. 14, the latch release bar is provided with L a'calibrated'scale 49a and the latch release memher-50 adjustable along thelengthof the bar 49. The latchrelease member 50 is provided with a finger 50a which cooperates with a finger 75 on the shuttle 64 to cause a rocking'of the bar 49 to as the knife blade is pivoted into operative position, the dispensed tape will be severed from the main roll. The tensile spring 92 is suitably mounted on the pivot 86 and maintains the knife in the open position during normal operation of the machine.

The knife operating arm 88 is pivoted to the side frame 2'7 at the point 93, as will be seen in Fig. 3. Intermediate its endsit is provided with a projection 94 as particularly shown in Fig. 13, and this projection operates in a cam groove 95 in a rotatable collar 96, freely mounted on the fixed clutchmember 14. As will be seen from Figs. 5 and 12,- the clutch member 14 is provided with dog-teeth 97 which cooperate with corresponding teeth 98 on the collar 96. The free collar 96 is also provided with a projecting member 99' which cooperates with cam 100 and nor-- mally maintains the movable collar 96 out of contact with the tecth'97 of the driven clutch member. The normal position of the cam 100 is shown in full line in Fig. 12 and indotted line in Fig. 13. The spring 101 holds the cam 100 in contact with the projecting member 99 toretain the movable collar 96 in its lowermost position and to prevent the knife from operating.

A knife release cam 103, as shown in Fig. 3, is secured on the extreme movable end of the clutch fork 36 and, as shown in Fig. 6, it is prov ded with an enlarged cam surface 104 at' the free end'thereof. One side of the knife release cam abuts a pin 105 and on the other end cooperates with the rear of the cam 100 as will be more clearly shown in Fig. 13. As the clutch fork is released to permit the clutch 16 to become disengaged the clutch fork arm 36 rises and causes the knife release cam 103 to rise with it, and as the enlarged portion of the cam 104 engages the rear 100a of the cam 100 it will cause a rotation of the earn 100 about a central pivot 106 against the tension of spring 101 and thus per-' mit the projecting member 99 to rise with the free collar 96. As the collar 96 is thus free to move upward, inasmuch as the cam 100 has been displaced, the clutch teeth 97 and 98 engage to drive the free collar with the residual power of the motor. There is only residual power in the motor inasmuch as the upward movement of the clutch fork 36 has opened the switch circuit to shut off the motor. As the free member 96 rotates a single turn, the projecting member 99 again comes under the cam 100 which is automatically released as the cam face 104 passes over the'surface 100a and the free collar 96 is then moved into the inoperative position causing the disengagement. of the clutch teeth 97 and 98.

Due to the positive drive of the free member 96 and due to the irregular path configuration of the cam surface 95, the cam follower 94 on the knife operating arm 88 will be forced downward in the first half of the revolution to force the knife blade up thus operating the knife a single time.' The cam follower then rises and the knife blade drops to inoperative position. A single movement of the knife is suflicient to sever the paper, and as the cam 100 "'s placed in the path of the projecting member 99, the knife is operated through a complete movement but a single time by the residual momentum of the motor. A spring 107 draws the operating arm 88 upward and when the projecting member 99 is released,

the free collar 96 is drawn upward to engage the teeth 9'7, and the spring 107a thus insures co-' fined within the; guard plate or chute 89, and

knife release cam 103 is adapted to release the cam 100,but a single time on a complete movement of the operating arm 31, and due to the depression of the operating lever 30, the cam 103 will normally slide off the face against the tension of spring 108 of the cam 100 and will then bedrawn into position so that when again raised, the cam will cause a release of the cam 100 and thus the release of the knife actuating mechanism- -A slot 107 is provided in the end of the lever 88 to provide for free movement of the lever 88 and spring 108 is provided to hold the cam 103 into position as shown in Fig. 5.

It will thus be seen that the operation of the machine contemplates depressing .the operating lever or key momentarily and the latch engages the lever and holds it in downward position. The depression of the lever turns on the switch so that the motor begins revolving and also causes the engagement of the clutch whereupon the motion of the motor is instantly transmitted to the feed rolls which being feeding tape toward the moistener. The rotation of -the motor is also transmitted to the shuttle advancing screw which begins to revolve, and the shuttle which has been pressed into engagement with the revolving screw by the depression of the operating lever begins advancing the shuttle toward the measuring key. The movement of the shuttle is synchronized with the motion of the tape through the machine.

When the required amount of tape has been fed out the shuttle strikes the key in its path which corresponds with the predetermined amount of tape, causing the latch to release its hold on the operating lever. The operating lever spring instantly returns the operating lever to its original upward position, thereby disengaging the feed clutch which stops the further travel ofthe tape, disengages the shuttle from the screw allowing the shuttle spring to return the shuttle to its original position, shuts ofi the motor current and releases the knife actuating cam and engages the knife actuating arm with the clutch and the residual motion of the motor operates the knife to shear off the measured length of tape.

S'nce the whole series of operations is brought to a close by the shuttle striking -a depressed key, and since the keys are mounted adjacent the travelof theshuttle it is evident that the length of the tape strip can be changed by depressing the desired key corresponding to the amount of tape desired. If a key is depressed so that the shuttle will trip it after a short shuttle travel, then a 1.39 short piece of tape will be fed out and cut Ofi similarly, different keys will measure different lengths of tape.

The depression of the measuring keys does not start the machine in operation, it merely takes the place of a readjustment of the position at which the latch will be engaged by the shuttle to stop the machine. When a key is depressed it will stay down indefinitely until another key is depressed, and it is therefore possible to dispense the samelength of tape indefinite numbers of times by merely depressing the operating key. The operator must depress the main operating key each time he desires the motor started and the tape fed therefrom, and each time the operat'ng lever is released the motor is shut off as well, although it does not instantly stop but causes a single actuation of the knife. The advantage of the keyboard is that it requires only an instant to change from'any length to any 5 1y measured by the machine.

i the opening 125 to engage the brush 123.

with the tape fed from the machine, a clutch M oistener The moistener E comprises the receptacle 120 adapted to hold a fluid such as water and the bottom of the receptacle is provided with a projection 121 which cooperates with the ferrule 122 of the brush 123. A removable cover 124 is mounted on the top of the receptacle and this cover has an opening 125 through which the brush 123 extends. Apivoted and weighted fiap 126 is mounted on the cover 124 and extends over The pivoted end of the flap 126 is spaced a sl'ght distance above the cover 124 so that the tape will pass therethrough. The tape then passes between the fiap and the brush and the slight tension insures a good contact between the moistened ends of the brush and the gummed surface of the tape and therefore provides a uniform moistening of the tape. Projecting legs 127 permit removable support of the receptacle 120 on the frame of the machine.

Although Lire showing of the screw and shuttle is parallel to the feed roll spindles and to the key-board, it is possible to construct the course of the shuttle so that it will rotate about a fixed center rather than travel in rectilinear direction. It would be necessary to construct the keyboard on a circular frame to cooperate with the shuttle movement under such conditions.

While I have shown preferred forms of embodiment of my device, I am aware that other modifications may be made thereto and I therefore desire a broad interpretation of my device within the scope and spirit of the disclosure thereof and of the claims appended hereinafter.

I claim:

1. In a tape serving machine having a tape supply and a tape severing device, and a driving motor, the combination of a feed ng means and a control for said feeding means, said control including a shuttle moving in synchrony mechanism, a visual length measuring key board, I

a plurality of keys in said keyboard cooperating with said shuttle to disengage said clutch to stop the tape feed when one of said keys is in operative position, a linkage between said clutch and said severing device operated by the residual motion of the driving motor to actuate said severing device, and means to place all other keys in inoperative position by the movement of any one key into operative position whereby the length of tape to be fed may be instantly varied.

2. In a tape serving machine having a tape supply, a tapesevering means and mechanical means for feeding tape from said supply past said severing means and operating said severing means, the combination of a length control for said fed tape, sa'd control including a shuttle movable in synchrony with the fed tape, a clutch for the mechanical means, a starting lever for engaging the clutch and starting the feed of tape and moving the shuttle into operative position, a release lever for releasing the starter lever and returning the shuttle to initial position, a length key board, a plurality of keys in said key board, each key corresponding to a fixed length of tape and determining the length of tape, fed when in the operative position, the operative key actuating the release lever to stop the feed and actuate the severing devlce, and means to release any key from itsv operative position by the movement of any other key to the operative position.

3. In a variable length tape serving machine of the class described having a power supply for dispensing tape therefrom, a length control comprising a plurality of keys, each correspond ng to a fixed length of tape when in an operative position, means to hold a single one of said keys in operative position to determine the fixed length of tape corresponding thereto and to stop the power supply, means carried by all of said keys to release any key in operative position when any other key is moved into the operative position, and means to sever the tape including a severing device, means to actuate the severing device on residual rotation of the power supply.

THEODORE H. KRUEGER' 

